It exists as a vault to house seed samples should war, climate change, or mass cataclysm cause the extinction of key plant species. It is designed to keep the seeds viable for hundreds or in some cases thousands of years. The plain construction is a cost and practicality measure, the lights serve 3 main purposes.
1. To aid in locating the site from a distance, especially after a cataclysm. (The building is self powered off of coal supplies mined on site and could theoretically continue to self power long after a cataclysm.)
2. Because it’s a “hope for the future” type project and scientists of that sort tend to love symbolizism and high concept musings- and those lights are actually an art installation piece.
3. Because there are laws in Norway requiring any construction project over a certain cost to incorporate a work of art- so in part for the practical and other reasons in #2, they decided to make the art a work using light so it could satisfy all above conditions.
I figured you knew why it existed. Your post made clear you had some knowledge of the facility. I was not trying to make you feel as though I thought you did not. I mentioned the purpose for two reasons.
1. Posterity/context- to others who may read this and be curious.
2. To correlate the two- and preemptively answer the question of why one would need the lights. Not the question from you- but again- under the assumption someone else might be curious on the subject.
I had sufficient space available to offer a complete explanation for the benefit of the thread. I apologize if you took my reply as some sort of dig at your knowledge.
The exterior is used in several science fiction films and series- just as a fun fact. So you may we’ll have seen the building before and never realized it!
Incorrect. They do not have racalcitrant seeds (mostly tropical - avacado, mango, mangosteen, cocoa, etc) as they cannot survive drying or freezing temperatures.
Bananas do have seeds, the most common commercial bananas do not have viable seeds as they are clones of the species that have been bred until the seed (in those the tiny brown/black flecks) is useless, much like seedless watermelon have been bred to have the fruit ripen while the seed is undeveloped. Potatoes do have seeds, the flowers can set fruit which produce seed pods, but commercially they are grown from portions of the tubers.
1. To aid in locating the site from a distance, especially after a cataclysm. (The building is self powered off of coal supplies mined on site and could theoretically continue to self power long after a cataclysm.)
2. Because it’s a “hope for the future” type project and scientists of that sort tend to love symbolizism and high concept musings- and those lights are actually an art installation piece.
3. Because there are laws in Norway requiring any construction project over a certain cost to incorporate a work of art- so in part for the practical and other reasons in #2, they decided to make the art a work using light so it could satisfy all above conditions.
1. Posterity/context- to others who may read this and be curious.
2. To correlate the two- and preemptively answer the question of why one would need the lights. Not the question from you- but again- under the assumption someone else might be curious on the subject.
I had sufficient space available to offer a complete explanation for the benefit of the thread. I apologize if you took my reply as some sort of dig at your knowledge.
Bananas do have seeds, the most common commercial bananas do not have viable seeds as they are clones of the species that have been bred until the seed (in those the tiny brown/black flecks) is useless, much like seedless watermelon have been bred to have the fruit ripen while the seed is undeveloped. Potatoes do have seeds, the flowers can set fruit which produce seed pods, but commercially they are grown from portions of the tubers.